Guticle shield



SePt- 30, 1941- E. l.. BREENE 2,257,102

.Y CUTICLE SHIELD Filed. Oct. 2, 1940 INVENTOR /f/laz ATTORNEY PatentedSept. 30, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 16'l Claims.

This'invention relates to new and useful improvements in a nger cuticleprotector for use during manicuring operations and is a continuation inpart of my application Serial Number 315,288, led January 24, 1940, forCuticle shield.,

The object of the invention is to provide a protector for use duringmanicuring operations, which cause the entire' nail to be exposed, thesides of the fingers moved out of their normal position, and the cuticleadjacent the sides of the iingers and the nail to be temporarilydisplaced by the pulling of the cuticle downward from the nail grooves,then exposing the entire nail surface for manicuring operation and atthe same time protecting the sensitive cuticle from the manicuringchemicals, bung powders,

friction from the buier, or any other implementsI used in the operationof manicuring, so thatv when the manicuring operation takes place thedelicate cuticles are not subject to injury in the manicuringoperations. A device in accordance with my invention may be made forself use, or for use by professional manicurists.

The invention consists of a cuticle protectorV comprising a pair ofmembers adapted to grip the ends of a finger and gently pull the samedownwardly on both sides of the nail to. expose the nail and the cuticleadjacent the same, and handle portions on said members for spreadingsaid members apart tov permit insertion. of the finger therebetween,said members being shaped to act as gripping means, and shaped, toextend along the length of the tapering finger ends, so as to expose theentire side portionsof the finger. The invention also, in otherembodiments includes guide means extending transversely of said membersadjacent one edge thereof,v for positioning beneath the nger nail toalso move the tip of the finger downward, which inA co-4 operation withthe downward movement of the sides of the ngers, exposes the cuticle,and prevents the buffer or chemicals from contacting with the cuticle orthe finger por-tions of the cie--V vlce.

This invention will be further fullyv described, embodiments hereinafterVpointed out, and the invention will be finally pointed out in theclaims.

In the accompanying drawing,

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of a device embodyingv my invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical central section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section taken on line 3'3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse sectionk taken on line 4 4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a vertical transverse section of" part of the device shown inFig. 1 taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6` is a plan View of the device shown in Fig. 1 showing it appliedto a nger tip;

Fig. 7 is a vertical transverse section of Fig, 6" `taken on line '1 -l;

Fig. 8 is averticallongitudinal partial section taken on line 8-8 ofFig. 6;V

Fig. 9 is a perspective View of another embodiment of the invention, andj Fig. 10 is a transverse section taken on line HJ-l of Fig. 9.

Similar characters of reference indicate corre.- sponding partsthroughout the various views.

Referring to the drawing, the cheeks 2D are fashioned with substantiallyvertical wallstapering in the manner of the tapering shape of the end ofa nger. The planes 2l converge towards the ends of the fingers. Theseplanes 2i are provided with horizontal ridges 22 and' interveninggroovesso as to grip the sides of the finger therebetween. Preferably,these cheeks are so placed that their upper edges 23 are spacedV fromthe lateral edges of the intervening nail a` small distance. These edges23 with the walls 2| when `pressing upon the opposed sides ofv the nger,

then push downwardly these sides and thusv move the portion ofthe ngersadjacent the lateral edges of the nail away from the same. The cuticlewhich lies between the nail and this portion of the ringer, is therebydrawn away from 'the nail, and the nail at its lateral edges becomesentirely exposed. With many people the side portions of the ngers extendover the nail and` cover the intervening cuticles. The pressure of thecheeks thus frees the nailI of the .sides of the fingers and thecuticles, and enables the nail to be polished, painted or otherwisemanicured' without affecting the cuticles.

The tops of the cheeks are made descending,

that is, at 24 the tops slope downwardly. Usually the fingers showdescent, and by this shape the cheeks conform to the fingers, and thepol'- ishing brushes can be made tofoperate-eliciently.

There is provided a space 25- below the cheeks, into which the finger isinserted. l

Various means may be provided forpushing the cheeks against the nnger.In the embodir ment, a standard 26 having a post 21 has springs 28V and29 whichact `to press the cheeks against each other, so that whenseparated against the, action of the springs, the cheeks will have a`tendency toY move towards each other. If a iin` ger is placed betweenthe cheeks, the iinger will be pressed or compressed. The Vcheeks are onarms 3G each pivoted on pins 3i, Sla, upon the standard 26, and thesprings 28 and 29 are askew of each other. When the lower ends oi thearms are pressed towards each other, the' cheeks are opened.

When Ythe cheeks are in resilient arms, then l `the material itselfbeing inherently resilient takes the place of the pins, springs andpost.

To press the tip end of the finger away from Vthe nail, a bridge wall 35is provided on the standard 2S, or a wall 35a in the'resilientembodiment. This wall presses the tip of Vthe finger.y and is preferablyspaced from the tip vof the iinger nail and below the same. "ThisVspacing en-` ables the liquid or polishing Ymaterial'or the buffer orbrush thereof when being applied to the nail from contacting with thedevice, where-` by it is maintained clean. v .Y

It will'be noted that thefcheeks extend below the.bridgewall,.and thisis for the purpose of` to hardened or horny. This isrgenerally known asthe cuticle, though the word cuticle applies to skin Yinl general, butin this case the word cuticle has reference to this horny portion of theskin adjacent to the nail. It extends around three sides of the nail asshown'in Fig. 6 and is indicated by 4l. In some people this hornyportion or cuticle is more pronounced than inothers, in

thelatter it seems to fade away or merge with the skin as if it did notexist. The cheeks 2@ of my device are preferably so placed in respect toa finger tip that a certain part of the skin of the nger is exposed',that is, it is not covered by the cheeks. This exposed portion of theYfinger is indicated by, 42 in Fig. 6. When the cheeks grip the fingertip substantially at this part of the finger, then the normal enclosingportions of the iinger tipare drawn downwardly and away from ,25?,1oa YY v y g downwardly, the nail is exposed as far asit is possible todo so.

It will be noted that the preferred form of use, is shown in Fig. 8wherein the nail is spaced from the bridge portion. The vobject of thisis that the polishers or brushes can operate upon the nail, and then ifthey pass beyond the nail edge they willnot contact with the bridgeportion orl with the body of the protector, and thereby this protectorwill not be soiledV with these liquids, vand there will be no necessityfor cleaning. f

It is seen that the object of the protector is `toengage as much of thesides of the fingers as n possible so as to draw them downwardly so asto exposeV the nail as much as possible and protect the sides of thefingers and the cuticle. l

From the foregoing it will have been seen that the invention comprises apair of arm members, means to move the 'free ends of the arm members togrip the sidesY of the finger and gently ing operation, the said meansreturning the arm,

" *out in the claims.Y

In Figs. 9 and 10 is shown another embodiment tending'arms 5l` of whichare adapted to engage pull thecuticle downwardly from the nail groovesfor exposing the entire nail surface for manicurmembe'rs resiliently to4initial positionY uponY re- Inoval of the finger'fro'mv the enclosingposition vof said arm members, and'that the 'free ends of the armmembersV slope in the direction of theY taperingV form of the nger tipand'eXt'end along The invention further consists of other important andessential meansV which have been hereinbefore described and which willbe pointed in which a strip of flexible resilient material, is

bent into the shape shown to provide a substanytially U`shaped centralportion, theiupwardly exa finger. These arms have cheeks 52 whichtaperthe nail, and the cuticle between this finger portionV and the nail arealso drawn downwardly away from Ythe nail'and thereby it is possiblev topaint the nail almost in its entirety without causing the materialused'for the painting of the nail to kact upon the cuticle. Materials ofthis kind curing, contain acetone which has an erosion effect uponthecuticle.

One ofthe main objects of this invention is to provide a protector whichwill so operate upon i thefingergthat the cuticle is protected against ltheseharmful liquids or powders. When the nv ger tip 44 is subjectedtol-the cheeks l20 it is length of the n'ger has ordinarily a tendencyto nail;V but; byk thecheeks pressing Ythese portions 1 pressed as shownin Fig. 6, and whenit is subjected to the transverse bridge portion thishas y a tendency to press the tip of the linger awayy from the nail andthe pressure of the tip of the p l finger downwardly inwardly of thelongitudinal i compressthe sides of the 'fingertip adjacent the Qinwardly from the rear ends 54 toward the front ends 53 as shown ,inFig. 9Vso that'the front ends will more V,tightly gripthe4 `cuticleadjacentv the sides of thevnger nailthan the rear ends of the exteremelydifficult to properly apply the polish.

The upper ends of the arms. of the U-shaped portion continue intodownwardly extending outwardly diverged .end handle portions 56 whichare adapted to be pressed together yfor spreading' the upper ends of thearms 5l when the shield is being engagedupon a nger. These end handleportions,have'agportion of the strip of material double-d upon itselfalong the inside faces of the handle portions so as to stiffen thesehandle porrtions and prevent Ythe samefromV bending when urged togethersoil as to insurethe spreading 'of the arms.

The shield is further providedwith a resilient i means for urging thebottomends of theend handle portions apart in a mannergto cause the i Yarms to tightlyrengagenthesides ofV the finger.

'Ihis means comprises a piece of springrsteel 55 substantially arcuatein shape and which passes`V through openingsv formedin the baseA of the;U;

The invention fcomprises also the shaped: portion and. which engagesinto receiving sockets l formed by' bending the lower edges of thehandle portions upwards along the` inside face thereof. This springtends to assume a straight line position and so spreads the ends ol thehandle portions". I

The front ends of the arms of the U-shaped portion are provided with ameans for engaging beneath, ones linger nail to assist the clampingaction of the spring in holding the cuticle shield in position upon thelinger. prises a U-shaped guide 35a arranged in substantially the sameplane as the arms and which is adapted to engage. ones 'nger nailadjacent the top lace of the flesh located immediately therebelow forassisting in holding the shield in position. This'guide has the ends ofits arms clamped between the adjacent faces of the upper ends of` thearms and' the end handle portions. This clamping action tends tomaintain the guide in a lixed position relative to the iront ends of thearms.. The guide is preferably constructed of a piece oi flexible wireso as to spread and contract with the ends of the arms so as not tointerfere with the engagement of and the removability of the guide fromthe linger.

I have` described an. embodiment of my invention, but it will be clearthat changes may be made within the principle of the invention describedwithout departing from the scope of the subjoined claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a cuticle protector, the combination of a pair of cheeks,` meansto move said cheeks to permit the insertion of the sides of a linger tiptherebetween and gently press upon the sides of the linger tip to pullthe cuticle downwardly from the nail grooves, thus exposing the entirenail surface for manicuring operation, said means returning the cheeksresiliently to initial position upon removal ol the linger from theenclosing position to said cheeks, `and guide means extendingtransversely of saidcheeks for engaging beneath the linger tip toprotect the end of the linger from any material applied during theholding of the linger by the cheeks.

2. A cuticle shield, comprising a strip of exible resilient materialhaving a U-shaped portion for engagement on a finger so that the arms o1the U-shape grip the end or" the digit and gently pull the cuticledownwards, and end handle portions extending from the ends of the armsof said U- shaped portion, and a guide mounted between the ends of thearms of said U-shaped portion for engaging beneath the linger nail toassist in holding the shield on the nger.

3. A cuticle shield, comprising a strip of flexible material having aU-shaped portion for engagement on a finger so that the arms of theU-shape grip the end ol the digit and gently pull the cuticle downwards,and end handle portions extending lrom the ends of the arms oi said U-shaped portion, and a guide mounted between the ends ol the arms of saidU-shaped portion for engaging beneath the linger nail to assist inholding the shield on the finger, said end handle portions beingdirected downwards and outwards relative to the arms of said U-shapedportion.

4. A cuticle shield, comprising a strip of flexible resilient materialhaving a U-shaped portion for engagement on a linger so that the arms ofthe U-shape grip the end of the digit and gently pull the cuticledownwards, and end handle portions extending from the ends of the armsof said U- shaped portion, and a guide mounted between This meanscomresilient material having a U-shaped portion for.

engagement on. a linger so that the arms ofthe U-shapegrip the en'd'of`the digit and gentlypull the cuticle downwards, and end handle portionsextending fromthe ends of the arms of said 'U- shaped portion, and aguide mounted betweenl the ends ofl the arms of said U-shaped portionfor engaging beneath the linger nail to assist in holding the shield onthe finger, and a. spring mounted between said end handle portions for'assisting in urging. the arms of the U-shaped portion to grip thelinger.

6. A cuticle shield, comprising a strip of flexible resilient materialhaving a U-shaped portion for engagement onV `a linger so that the armsof the EJ-shape grip the end ol the digit andgently pull the cuticledownwards,v and end handle portions extendingv from the ends of the armsoisaid' U- shaped portion, andI a guide mounted between the ends of thearms of said U-shaped portion for engaging beneath the linger nail toassist in holding the shield on the linger, and .a springmounted'between said end handle portions for assisting in urging thearms of the U-shaped *portion to grip the linger, said spring having itsends engaged into receiving sockets formed at the base ol said endhandle portions.

'7. A cuticle shield, comprising a strip of flexible resilient materialhaving a U-shaped portion for engagement on a linger so that the arms ofthe U-shape grip the end of the digit and gently pull the cuticledownwards, and end handle portions extending from the ends of'the armsof said U- l shaped portion, and a guide mounted between the ends of thearms of said U-shaped portion for engaging beneath the finger nail toassist in holding the shield on .the nger, and a spring mounted betweensaid end handle portions for assisting in urging the arms oi theU-shape'ol portion to grip the finger, said spring having its endsengaged into receiving sockets formed at the base of said end handleportions, said receiving sockets being formed by doubling the bottomends of said end handle portions upwards along the inside face thereof.

8. A cuticle shield, comprising a strip of flexible resilient materialhaving a U-shaped portion for engagement on a linger so that the arms ofthe U-shape grip the end of the digit and gently pull the cuticledownwards, and end handle portions extending from the end of the arms ofsaid U- shaped portion, and a guide mounted between the ends of the armsof said U-shaped portion for engaging beneath the linger nail to assistin holding the shield on the linger, said guide being resilientlymounted for causing the same to more tightly engage beneath ones lingernail to more rigidly hold said guide in position.

9. A cuticle shield, comprising a strip of liexible resilient materialhaving a U-shaped portion lor engagement on a finger so that the arms ofthe U-shape grip the end of the digit and gently pull the cuticledownwards, and end handle portions extending from the ends of the armsof said U-shaped portion, and a guide mounted between the ends of thearms of said U-shaped portion for engaging beneath the nger nail toassist in holding the shield on the nger, said guide being resilientlymountedufor causing the same ,tor more tightly engage beneath oneslinger nail to more rigidly hold said guide iny position, saidresilientr mounting comprising springs attached to the jaw members forengagement `of a finger, anr

end shield in longitudinal alignment rwith the bers to permit the deviceYto be in upright posi-n tion on a at surface'end be used as a'restsupsaid jaw members to cover one side of the jaw Y members and. to leavethe opposite side lof thev ofthe jaw members and to leave the oppositeside of the said jaw members Yopenrfor the insertion of the fingerv inthe recessed portions` thereof, resilient means to 'keep the recessedportionsof the jaw members closed to enable the, device to expose thecuticles of the finger grjped by the device.

` ,12. A cuticle shield comprising a pair of" hinged jaw members,recessed portions at one'end of the jaw members for engagement of afinger, an end shieldin longitudinal alignment with the said jaw membersto cover one side of the jaw members and to leave the opposite side ofthe said jaw members open for the insertion of the finger in therecessed portions thereof, a narrow guide on the top face of said endshield for resting the fingernail thereon and to prevent nail polishfrom dripping on the finger tip. l I 13. A cuticle shield comprising apair of hinged jaw members, recessed portions at one end of theV jawmembers for engagement of a f finger, ank end shield in longitudinalalignment with the said jaw members to cover one side of the jaw membersand to leave the opposite side of the said jaw members open for theinsertion of the nger inthe recessed portions y end 'shield for restingthe finger nail thereon and toV prevent nail polishfrom dripping on thefingertip, the bottomface of the end shield be-,

ing fiush with the bottom faces of the jaw mem# port device for thefinger. Y

i4. In a cuticle protector, the combination 0f a pair of cheeks, eachtapering inV general direction ofthe Vtaper of the nger ends,y andextending the length of the finger end from the'tip'V tothe bottoni lofthe nail, and having rills and grooves toengage thesides oftheiingen'and having the top portions of the cheeks downwardly inclined,and means to move the cheeks towards and from the nger sides, and topress the cheeks against'the finger sides.

15; In a cuticle portector, the combination of a pair of cheeks, eachtapering in general direction ofthe taper of the finger ends, andextending the length of the finger end from the tip to the bottom of thenail, andV having rills and grooves to engage the sides of the nger, andhaving the top portions of the cheeks downwardly incliried,` means tomove the cheeks towards and from the finger sides, and to press thecheeksy against the finger sides, and a bridgewall transversely acrossthe open space between the cheeks,

spaced, below the nail of theV finger held between.

the cheeks, the'bridgewall being stationary in respect to the movablecheeks.

15. In a cuticle protector, the combination of a pair of cheeks having alongitudinallyV grooved bearing surface preventing the finger fromslipping and having the uppermost surfaces of the cheeks inclineddownwardly from rear to front to enable the grooved bearing surfaces tofollow the downward taper of the finger and means to move said cheeks topermit the insertion of the sides of a finger tip therebetween andgently v press upon the sides of the finger downwardly to expose thenail grooves, thus exposing the entire nail surface for manicuringoperation, said means returning the cheeks resiliently to initialposition upon removal of the finger from

